Jade
Jade Jade is a fictional character from the Mortal Kombat fighting video game series. She debuted in Mortal Kombat II (1993), at first as an unplayable secret character and became a player character in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Eventually, Jade became one of stalwart supporting characters, also featured in some of the related media and in merchandise in the Mortal Kombat franchise. In video games In Mortal Kombat II, Jade was a mysterious hidden character with no part in the game's storyline whatsoever. In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, the 2005 beat'em-up retelling of MKII, she appears to fight against Liu Kang and Kung Lao alongside Mileena and Kitana; when defeated, she is stabbed in the eyes with Mileena's two sai by the player's character, killing her. Jade returns in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1996) in which her backstory as a fellow Edenian and long-time friend of Kitana is revealed. She once served as Shao Kahn's elite assassin along with his adopted step-daughter Kitana (and later also Mileena).1 After Kitana was put on trial for Mileena's murder and escaped to the Earthrealm, Jade was ordered by Kahn to bring Kitana back to Outworld alive. However, he also sent his warrior Reptile with Jade, ordering him to kill Kitana if necessary.2 The two located Kitana and Jade narrowly prevented Reptile from killing her. Convinced by Reptile's actions and Kitana's words, Jade turns against Kahn and aids Kitana in freeing her resurrected mother, Queen Sindel, from Kahn's mental control. The three later join with Kitana's Earthrealm allies to help defeat Shao Kahn. After they liberate Edenia from Outworld, Jade serves Sindel and Kitana for years. Sometime after Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, she witnesses the death, resurrection, and capture of Kitana and her allies by Onaga under an enslaving spell. In Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004), Jade rescues Sindel from imprisonment in the Edenian palace dungeon. They escape to Outworld, attempting to free Kitana from Onaga's sorcery. Jade also attempts to seek revenge against the traitorous Edenian Tanya. In the game's Konquest story mode she orders Shujinko to bring the Edenian traitor Rain to her. In Mortal Kombat, the 2011 reboot of the series, Jade is a member of Edenian noble family that served Shao Kahn once he conquered their realm, giving Jade to him as tribute when she was a child. After years of rigorous training and service as an assassin for Shao Kahn, Jade has earned a reputation as an agile and stealthy warrior, and was awarded the position of a bodyguard to Princess Kitana. Over the centuries she and Kitana have become close friends.3 Under the emperor's orders, she at first fights the Earthrealm warriors, and later unsuccessully attempts to stop Kitana from learning the truth about her heritage, but eventually helps to free Kitana from captivity. Later, Jade joined also the Earthrealm warriors during the invasion of Earthrealm. However, when Sindel arrived, Jade was killed by Sindel. She was last shown in the Netherrealm, as one of the warriors resurrected and enslaved by Quan Chi.\ Character design Jade first appeared in Mortal Kombat II as one of the game's hidden characters along with Noob Saibot and Smoke,4 at first as a green palette swap of Kitana with darker skin and different-colored fans. Since Ultimate MK3, Jade's weapon became a magical steel bō staff (featured heavily in her Fatalities; in Deception it was turned into a spear) and bladed boomerang projectiles, her Animality being a kitten. One of her new UMK3 attacks, a smoking kick, is a variant of Johnny Cage's classic Shadow Kick.5 In the Sega Genesis and Super NES versions of the game, Jade's fighting stance is Mileena's and Kitana's, respectively. Jade's moves, along with these of Mileena and Kitana, were also used to create the composite character Khameleon in Mortal Kombat Trilogy (who has Jade's moves if her name bar letters are green).6 Jade and Kitana are the only characters to have two additional "Klassic" costumes in the downloadable content for MK2011 (from MKII7 and UMK38). Gameplay When she was first introduced as a secret unlockable opponent in Mortal Kombat II, Jade possessed immunity to projectile attacks but otherwise her gameplay style was identical to Kitana's. Jade has become playable since Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, but she is non-playable in Shaolin Monks. In UMK3, Jade was a powerful character and her unique invincible to projectiles was kept, becoming a special move.9 According to Sega Saturn Magazine, "Jade's variety of projectile attacks makes her a difficult character to get near, and her invincibility can make her tricky to get away"; she also "has got some devastating combo attacks" and is especially hard to play against the CPU-controlled opponent.5 According to GameSpot, Jade and Noob Saboit in Trilogy are "incredibly overpowered, with moves that run from rendering projectiles ineffective to making characters momentarily powerless".10 Prima Games' official guide for Armageddon rated her overall 7/10 (better than both Kitana and Mileena).11 According to Prima's official guide for the 2011 Mortal Kombat, "Jade's speed, safe attacks, and savvy combo abilities put her near the top of the cast".12 In other media In Malibu Comics' 1995 Mortal Kombat miniseries Battlewave, the comic version of Jade13 is an evil assassin serving Shao Kahn's command. She is showing no relation or ties with Kitana and always paired with Smoke (an image of them is the cover of Mortal Kombat Battlewave #3: "No Guts, No Glory"14), unsuccessfully trying to kill Jax and then Johnny Cage. Introducing herself as "Jade, storm warrior", she also attempts to redeem herself by slaying Raiden during the comic book miniseries Rayden sic and Kano, also appearing along with Smoke. Jade was originally set to appear in the unfilmed scene in the first live-action Mortal Kombat movie's original screenplay. In it, Jade is described as "a diminutive woman dressed in an ornate Kabuki kimono", whose weapon is a stiletto hidden in her hair bun. Jade duels Sonya Blade and quickly loses.15 Jade appears on screen in the second movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), portrayed by the Siberian-born model Irina Pantaeva in a role of "a beautiful refugee from Outworld".16 The film version of Jade secretly remains loyal to Shao Kahn and her relationship with Kitana is not explored at all. Jade appears to test Liu Kang and attempts to seduce him, later leading the other Earthrealm warriors to an ambush. When she fails to defeat his enemies, Shao Kahn has her eaten by a gargoyle in his palace. Jade appears in the novelizations of both feature films. Her role in the 1995 Mortal Kombat novel by Martin Delrio is very minor as Jade (described as a long-haired Asian woman in a green silk dress with and covered in tigera and dragon tattoos, wielding two half-moon daggers) is killed with a single kick by Sonya Blade after being tricked into returning the bow of respect (this happens the same time Liu Kang fights Kitana). Jade's role in Jerome Preisler's 1997 novelization of Annihilation is similar as she first tries to seduce Liu Kang and later lures the Earthrealm warriors into a trap. In it, Jade is described as "absolutely, stunningly beautiful", as "bulky animal skins in which she was wrapped only seemed to accentuate the long, seductive, length of her body", and turns out to be Kitana's former lover. In the end, she is put to death by the enraged Shao Kahn, who first strangles her and then feeds her to a living stained glass window creature. Promotion and merchandise In 2005, Jade represented the cast of Mortal Kombat: Deception in G4s program "Girls Gone Wired", making "a special virtual appearance"17 in the form of a CG-graphics Jade hosting the show and introducing herself as of being better than Pamela Anderson.18 In 2011, a "free exclusive Jade character costume download" for the PS3 version of the reboot game was featured as part of promotional content in the Blu-ray release of the two (sold separately) Mortal Kombat feature films.19 A figurine of Jade came in the MKII set with a special issue (featuring also the cover story "Jade: a warrior of mystery"20) of the Argentinian magazine Top Kids in 1995.21 Two different action figures (basic and 10-inch models, each with different featured weapons) were released by Toy Island in 1996-1998 as part of the collections for Mortal Kombat: Trilogy.2223 A 1/6 scale limited-edition statue of Jade in her primary costume from MK2011 was announced to be released in the Mortal Kombat Enchanted Warriors line by Syco Collectibles in 2011.2425 She is also featured in the collectibe card games Mortal Kombat Kard Game as a common character (depicted as having curly hair26) and in Epic Battles as one the rare characters. Reception Jade received most of critical attention due to her sex appeal. According to UGO.com, "Jade seems to fetishize Eastern culture. ... She is a paradox: equal parts exotic slave girl and Asian princess, her most powerful weapon being her sexuality. She's the mystical, foreign black widow, a relic of post-war pulp novels."27 In G4's 2005 Video Game Vixens beauty pageant's "Sexiest Finish" contest,28 Jade won the third place out of five contestants (the winner being Summer from Outlaw Golf 229) and was awarded the score of 8.7/10. While comparing the Mortal Kombat characters to the seven deadly sins in Dante's Inferno in 2011, GamePro's Chris Holt chose Jade to represent Lust.30 Same year, GameFront's editor Phil Owen noted her popularity among the more attractive cosplayers and wrote: "Jade, I love you".31 Unreality included Jade on the 2011's list of The Eight Hottest Mortal Kombat Fighters.32 Complex ranked her as the number one on the 2011's list of The 25 Best Looking Sideline Chicks in Games, stating their preference of her over Kitana, Mileena and Sonya, and also comparing her staff to a "stripper pole" and applauding her Fatality in MK2011 as "the stuff of horrors".33 In 2010, Game Informer included one of her finishing moves in Deception, "Head Gymnastics", on the list of the best Fatalities so far.34 In 2011, Complex noted the viciousness of Jade's crotch attack special move showcased in a Jade-on-Mileena gameplay trailer.35 References ^ The History of Mortal Kombat: The Fall of Shinnok (GameSpot) ^ The History of Mortal Kombat: The Beginning of the End (GameSpot) ^ Jade Polystone Statue | Syco Collectibles ^ The History of Mortal Kombat: Mortal Kombat II (GameSpot) ^ a b "Showcases: Mortal Kombat 3". Official Sega Saturn Magazine 6 (April 1996), p.47 ^ The History of Mortal Kombat: Mortal Kombat Trilogy (GameSpot) ^ Mortal Kombat II Kostumes For Jade And Kitana Revealed | Gaming News and Opinion at TheSixthAxis.com ^ Jade's Klassic Costume For Mortal Kombat Is Revealed | Shogun Gamer ^ "Full Coverage: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3". Nintendo Power 91 (December 1996), p 69 ^ videogames.com: Mortal Kombat Trilogy Review (GameSpot) ^ Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Prima Official Game Guide), page 169 ^ Mortal Kombat: Prima Official Game Guide, page 82 ^ Jade (comic book character) | Comic Vine ^ Mortal Kombat Battlewave #3 - No Guts, No Glory (comic book issue) - Comic Vine ^ Mortal Kombat second draft script by Kevin Droney ^ Black Belt January 1998, page 84 ^ G4 press release (hosted on the official website of Tomb Raider Chronicles) ^ Jade Girl Gone Wired | Video Clip | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com ^ Ben Gilbert, Mortal Kombat and MK: Annihilation Blu-rays include costume for game, Joystiq, Feb 7th 2011 ^ TOP Kids #19 cover ^ Muñecos de Mortal Kombat Top Kids | Guía del coleccionista (Spanish) ^ Amazon.com: Jade 10" Figure From Mortal Kombat: Toys & Games ^ Jade Action Figure Gallery | Figure Realm ^ Interview with Mortal Kombat Online | Syco Collectibles ^ Jade - First Sculpt Images | Syco Collectibles ^ BradyGAMES Mortal Kombat Kard Game - Kard List ^ Plante, Chris (2010-09-04). "Jade from Mortal Kombat Is a Hot Cosplay Girl". UGO.com. Retrieved 2011-01-18.link ^ G4 - Video Game Vixens - Dressed to Kill, Sexiest Finish, and Viewers' Choice Best Booty ^ Video Game Vixens: Dressed to Kill, Sexiest Finish, and Viewers' Choice Best Booty Episode Summary - TV.com ^ Chris Holt, Scalia clearly doesn’t play Mortal Kombat, read Dante, GamePro, June 27, 2011 ^ Phil Owen, Top 30 Mortal Kombat Cosplay Pics … of All Time, GameFront, April 21, 2011 ^ The Eight Hottest Mortal Kombat Fighters, Unreality, May 25, 2011 ^ Elton John, The 25 Best Looking Sideline Chicks in Games, Complex.com, August 25, 2011 ^ Mortal Kombat's Best And Worst Fatalities, Game Informer, May 03, 2010 ^ Mortal Kombat Brings The Pain With New Tag Team Kombat Vid | Complex